46:6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown. 5
God 6 gives a shout, 7 the earth dissolves. 8
26:15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Oh, how the coastlands will shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, at the massive slaughter in your midst!
3:16 The Lord roars from Zion;
from Jerusalem 13 his voice bellows out. 14
The heavens 15 and the earth shake.
But the Lord is a refuge for his people;
he is a stronghold for the citizens 16 of Israel.
16:17 Finally 18 the seventh angel 19 poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying: “It is done!” 16:18 Then 20 there were flashes of lightning, roaring, 21 and crashes of thunder, and there was a tremendous earthquake – an earthquake unequaled since humanity 22 has been on the earth, so tremendous was that earthquake. 16:19 The 23 great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations 24 collapsed. 25 So 26 Babylon the great was remembered before God, and was given the cup 27 filled with the wine made of God’s furious wrath. 28
1 tc The difficult MT reading עוֹד אַחַת מְעַט הִיא (’od ’akhat mÿ’at hi’, “yet once, it is little”; cf. NAB “One moment yet, a little while”) appears as “yet once” in the LXX, omitting the last two Hebrew words. However, the point being made is that the anticipated action is imminent; thus the repetition provides emphasis.
2 tn Or “the heavens.” The same Hebrew word, שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), may be translated “sky” or “heavens” depending on the context. Although many English versions translate the term as “heavens” here, the other three elements present in this context (earth, sea, dry ground) suggest “sky” is in view.
3 tn Heb “all the nations.”
4 tn Though the subject here is singular (חֶמְדַּה, khemdah; “desire”), the preceding plural predicate mandates a collective subject, “desired (things)” or, better, an emendation to a plural form, חֲמֻדֹת (khamudot, “desirable [things],” hence “treasures”). Cf. ASV “the precious things”; NASB “the wealth”; NRSV “the treasure.” In the OT context this has no direct reference to the coming of the Messiah.
5 tn Heb “nations roar, kingdoms shake.” The Hebrew verb הָמָה (hamah, “roar, be in uproar”) is used in v. 3 of the waves crashing, while the verb מוֹט (mot, “overthrown”) is used in v. 2 of mountains tumbling into the sea (see also v. 5, where the psalm affirms that Jerusalem “cannot be moved”). The repetition of the verbs suggests that the language of vv. 2-3 is symbolic and depicts the upheaval that characterizes relationships between the nations of the earth. As some nations (symbolized by the surging, chaotic waters) show hostility, others (symbolized by the mountains) come crashing down to destruction. The surging waters are symbolic of chaotic forces in other poetic texts (see, for example, Isa 17:12; Jer 51:42) and mountains can symbolize strong kingdoms (see, for example, Jer 51:25).
6 tn Heb “He.” God is the obvious referent here (see v. 5), and has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “offers his voice.” In theophanic texts the phrase refers to God’s thunderous shout which functions as a battle cry (see Pss 18:13; 68:33).
8 tn Or “melts.” See Amos 9:5. The image depicts the nation’s helplessness before Jerusalem’s defender, who annihilates their armies (see vv. 8-9). The imperfect verbal form emphasizes the characteristic nature of the action described.
9 sn The phrase “in the fire of my fury” occurs in Ezek 21:31; 22:21, 31.
10 tn Or “shaking.”
11 tn Or “tremble.”
12 tn The term occurs only here and in Song of Songs 2:14.
13 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
14 tn Heb “he sounds forth his voice.”
15 tn Or “the sky.” See the note on “sky” in 2:30.
16 tn Heb “sons.”
17 sn A quotation from Hag 2:6.
18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “finally” to indicate the conclusion of the seven bowl judgments.
19 tn Grk “the seventh”; the referent (the seventh angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
21 tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”
22 tn The singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used generically here to refer to the human race.
23 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
24 tn Or “of the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
25 tn Grk “fell.”
26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Babylon’s misdeeds (see Rev 14:8).
27 tn Grk “the cup of the wine of the anger of the wrath of him.” The concatenation of four genitives has been rendered somewhat differently by various translations (see the note on the word “wrath”).
28 tn Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumo") and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9). Thus in Rev 14:8 (to which the present passage alludes) and 18:3 there is irony: The wine of immoral behavior with which Babylon makes the nations drunk becomes the wine of God’s wrath for her.